This is not a temple, but the magical palace of the King of the gods, and no mortal can enter it. It is so majestic, unreal, fantastic, illusory, it can not be from the hands of mortals, but the masterpiece of dreams. -- William Somerset Maugham, The Veil

The design inspiration of this case comes from the representative work of German contemporary artist, neo-Expressionist painter Anselm Kiefer (1945-). Through his own judgment, questioning and reflection on architecture and space, Li Min, the main designer, seeks abstract and spiritual things in the heavy material materials, and tries to deconstruct and reshape the space itself in terms of visual impact and spiritual perception.

Existence and illusion

Human beings have built physical and huge houses, made of stone, wood and concrete, that are a physical presence in our living Spaces, providing shelter from the wind and rain. At the same time, we live in a psychedelic landscape constructed by imagination and fiction. This psychedelia includes both our understanding of the world and the deepening of our self-knowledge.

The real world and the imaginary spiritual world are two dimensions of human life. They influence and shape each other. On the one hand, the existent world provides the material basis and realistic reference for our spiritual world; on the other hand, the spiritual world provides us with thinking, criticizing and surpassing the existent world.

Ego and superego

As in Heidegger's forgotten and distorted existence and time. In this fog, we should carefully look back, following the rhythm of artists and poets.

Every man's body is a temple, and he builds this temple and worships his gods in his own way, which is the fate he cannot escape in his whole life. There is sacred worship on the road to perfection and finding no end.

Like a beam of light, thrown into the darkness, strong by its pallor. In this long night, we search for that faint and remaining light. With the shadow, the light is more dazzling.

Back and forth, wandering deeply, the curve is the poetic narration and aesthetic exposition of the straight line. The meeting point of the past and the future is the present, and everyone is based here.

Temples and ruins

Philosophers and artists have never been absent in revealing the poor condition of the human spirit.

When we construct physical and vast houses, can we simultaneously "invent" psychedelic visions of the human spirit?

This picture includes both our understanding of the world, the search for the meaning of life in philosophy, and the expression of our emotions and imagination in art. These thoughts, explorations and performances form the psychedelic picture of our mind. "Temple" without spiritual picture is no different from "ruins", only in the continuous reflection, exploration and performance, we can truly understand human life, can truly shape our ideal spiritual world, through the maze of reality and value chaos, so as to walk out of the ruins.

Project name | Backlight: Temples and Ruins

Project address | Fuzhou, Fujian, China

The project area is | 160 square meters

Design agency | Anding design

Design content | whole case package

Design Director | Min Li

Design Assistant | Lin Su Heng

Project management | Anding X German Titanmach construction team

Completion time: | 2023.10

Main materials | wood finish, art paint